Road Trip! Portland to Joseph Part I + Chili Dogs

"Don't make fun of how much I packed," I blurted out to my best friend before she could make fun of how much I packed. "I never know what I'm gonna wanna wear, you know?"

"Yeah, plus you could spill something on yourself. Like a chili dog," She thoughtfully responded.

The fun poking turned from me to Tom Petty and I got an incredible craving for a tasty freeze.

Onward!

My friend, Amanda, whom I lovingly refer to as "Noozle" invited me on a road trip to Joseph, OR for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts. I loved the idea, but thought there's no way, no way I'll be able to get away for an entire weekend, I have a hard enough time finding a chance to shower! I ran it past my husband when lo and behold! Everything just fell squarely into place and I was able to temporarily drop life as a stay-at-home mom and take up life as a wandering nomad in the blink of an eye.

We left at 4:15 am. I don't remember the last time I was up and at 'em that early, but I loved it and really hope to do it more often. The light was phenomenal.

The Gorge was "Gorge"ous, haha ;)

I absolutely LOVED the sunrise. I see the sunset everyday, but the sunrise is different and amazing.

That's me, just keepin' it real.

Wind turbines throughout the east end of the Columbia Gorge. Some people think they're ugly, I am a bit fond of 'em myself. They're giant energy-producing fans and I love me a big fan, especially when I'm sleeping.

It was so quiet outside of the city. With the exception of the cars on I-84 all you could hear was birds and a few crickets.

It was about this time the coffee caught up to us and we needed to use the restroom. There wasn't going to be a restroom for many, many miles, so we used the side of the road. What? Like you've never done that.

The weather was perfect, which was good because the forecast suggested that side of Oregon may accumulate an inch or two of snow. The weatherman was wrong. What's new?

Agriculture shots were everywhere.

The rolling hills reminded me of Beetlejuice, you know when he is tiny and in that train set land? Those green rolling hills. Creepy.

This is from a lookout point just off the highway. You can see for days.

Haha, that's Nooze. She's gonna kill me for posting her best Captain Morgan's pose.

Yep, me again.

From inside the gazebo.

From outside the gazebo.

This was trash lying on the side of the grass. I couldn't help but set it up for a refreshing shot. Then I threw it back in the grass. Haha, I'm just kidding! Sheesh...

At this point we needed gas. We were running low and the gas light came on. We were hoping there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

We pulled over to consult with the GPS lady who assured us there was a gas station in Starkey. We're skeptical, but convinced this little machine knows its stuff.

So, we headed toward Starkey.

The roads and surroundings were getting more and more rural-country like and less and less gas-station-ahead like. Fearful that turning around would only set us back and we were about halfway down the 12 mile detour to Starkey. We pressed on.

Every mile was another victory and every minute was nerve wracking. At least if we ran out of gas on the freeway, somebody would see us, maybe even help us. Out here all we were likely to find was hungry mountain lions. We pressed on.

YES! We shouted cheers of joy and victory from the front seat when we do, in fact, find Starkey Store and they have a gas pump. "Just a quick stop 'n fill and we'll be on our way. It's only 9:00 am and were making great time!" I cheerfully noted.

Only to find this mocking us. 

"We're doomed!" I dramatically and sorrowfully declare. 

"We're doomed," agrees the Noozle in a rather defeated tone.

Will we find a way out of this mess or will we be eaten by mountain lions?

To be continued...